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Just curious.

Has anyone ever lost their gear (rig, helmet etc.) while traveling with a plane and didnt get them back?

How often to these kind of things happen?

did your read this thread of the same title?
Traveling with Gear

how about this article?
Travel

please put in some effort. otherwise you come across as a demanding, self-absorbed child.

You pretty much always carry on your gear on the way to jump. On the way home, you could check it if you want.

Look at it this way: if the airline loses my luggage at the beginning of a two week European BASE tour, I can buy new clothes. But if they lose my rig, it's going to be tough to get someone to ship me a new one in time.

Alright, Ill try harder next time.

Sorry if I make an inconvenient for you.

as for the carry-on/checked debate...

- multiple rigs will be difficult to carry on
- do you wish to pay for checked luggage?
- do you care to risk getting hassled by security?
- how far you going? watching a rig for 30 hours is not fun...
- what's the purpose of the trip? (you might have something more critical than a rig.)

like BASE in general, it is up to you...

I usually carry it on in a stash bag or other case unless I am taking my camera gear which takes up about the same space but is worth more with all the lenses and accessories. I have never had problems with checking my gear... now I can't say that my other luggage has not been lost. I have never been hassled by security either. They are inquisitive many times but I have never been hassled. A rig can be an excellent pillow on the long flights as well

I guess another question is do you pack slider up when you carry you rig on, just in case you need to bail? What if your going somewhere that has only slider down jumps?

-Carry your best one on.
-carry on the excess.
-Never been hassled for carrying rig on on over 50 flights in 16 countries over the World. One security guy in a european airport looke dup at me puzzled and i said "plane crush, one survivor"... He laughed.
-? 30 hour plane ride? sounds nasty!
-Should never be a compromise.

Everyone is different but i guess....

actually, I've experienced longer...

Orlando, FL -> Brisbane, Australia (stopping in Houston, Honolulu, Auckland, Sydney)

Louisiana -> Cape Town was over 30 hours, especially the return which got re-routed via Paris...

dashing between terminals can suck carrying too much luggage (it's also called baggage for a reason!)

light packing can also permit a quick Tube ride into London instead of spending a 6 hour layover in the transit terminal.

also, shipping might be cheaper than paying the checked bag fee. send it a week early and track it's progress on-line. then have a lower stress flight.

33+ Long Hours...
Vietnam back to Florida by
way of Japan and Atlanta.

I recently flew across the states and carried on two base rigs. One I wore on my back as my official carry on, the other was in a large shopping bag carried in hand. I was going to call it my one "personal item" if anyone gave me a hard time which they didn't. It really helped considering Delta only lets you check one 50 pound bag.

Two 245 sized rigs, a bag of pilot chutes, and a helmet will fit an airline-legal carry on.


The only time that's been the case for me was when I was moving. My cat was more important than the parachute gear so he came as a cary-on.

Being stranded in the middle of no where with no rig and being out $3000 in accomodations and chartered jet ranger time would stink.

that's when I'd recommend shipping a rig. ensure it gets there. especially if you have two. ship one and do not put all eggs in one basket.

On a similar note, most of my flying has weight limits imposed of around 20kgs (44ibs) and my rig/canopy/stash bag at 8kgs (18ibs) is by far the most dense/heavy item that I carry. I have therefore opted to take it as carry-on which of course has the additional benefit of knowing that I'll be able to jump when I get there. To this end I purchased a very high quality carry-on size wheely-bin/back pack which holds my rig, armour, pads, pack mat, PC's and a heap of other bits & bobs.

This way I can approach check-in with it on my back, check my hold luggage in without exceeding the weight limit and still take another 10 to 12kgs onto the aircraft. Then whilst moving around the airport lounges, restaurants etc I use the wheels which really makes it a bunch more comfortable.

The biggest hassle I have is with my full face camera helmet (complete with top mount camera bracket). I travel with it in a "Square One" full face helmet bag which is ideal but the bag is formed into the shape of an oblong and is a pain to have to carry as yet another separate item of carry-on hand baggage along with the wheely bin plus any other genuine hand baggage.

1) How do you guys get around the weight restrictions?

2) How do you carry your full face helmet?

Thanks in advance

John (Kenya)

On several occasions, I've found myself just paying the extra fee for excess baggage.


I don't use a helmet bag. I usually stuff it full of other things, generally soft items like clean clothes, and put it inside my suitcase. This way I minimize the extra bulk for having it, and it doesn't really weight that much.

Jumping gear that isn't a rig (helmets, kneepads, boots, etc) all generally get checked when I fly. I figure that I can find adequate replacements for those things almost anywhere in the world, should the airline lose my luggage.